Latest news with #Karachi
Japan Times
14 hours ago
- Business
- Japan Times
Pakistan's quiet solar rush puts pressure on national grid
Pakistanis are increasingly ditching the national grid in favour of solar power, prompting a boom in rooftop panels and spooking a government weighed down by billions of dollars of power sector debt. The quiet energy revolution has spread from wealthy neighborhoods to middle- and lower-income households as customers look to escape soaring electricity bills and prolonged power cuts. Down a cramped alley in Pakistan's megacity of Karachi, residents fighting the sweltering summer heat gather in Fareeda Saleem's modest home for something they never experienced before — uninterrupted power. "Solar makes life easier, but it's a hard choice for people like us," she says of the installation cost. Saleem was cut from the grid last year for refusing to pay her bills in protest over enduring 18-hour power cuts. A widow and mother of two disabled children, she sold her jewellery — a prized possession for women in Pakistan — and borrowed money from relatives to buy two solar panels, a solar inverter and battery to store energy, for 180,000 rupees ($630). Arsalan Arif, a local businessman, cleans solar panels installed on his house's rooftop in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on June 24. | AFP-JIJI As temperatures pass 40 degrees Celsius, children duck under Saleem's door and gather around the breeze of her fan. Mounted on poles above homes, solar panels have become a common sight across the country of 240 million people, with the installation cost typically recovered within two to five years. Making up less than 2% of the energy mix in 2020, solar power reached 10.3% in 2024, according to the global energy think tank Ember. But in a remarkable acceleration, it more than doubled to 24% in the first five months of 2025, becoming the largest source of energy production for the first time. It has edged past gas, coal and nuclear electricity sources, as well as hydropower, which has seen hundreds of millions of dollars of investment over the past decades. As a result, Pakistan has unexpectedly surged towards its target of renewable energy, making up 60% of its energy mix by 2030. Dave Jones, chief analyst at Ember, said that Pakistan was "a leader in rooftop solar." 'The great Solar rush' Soaring fuel costs globally, coupled with demands from the International Monetary Fund to slash government subsidies, led successive administrations to repeatedly hike electricity costs. Prices have fluctuated since 2022 but peaked at a 155% increase, and power bills sometimes outweigh the cost of rent. Solar panels are seen installed across the rooftops of a residential neighborhood in Karachi on June 24. | AFP-JIJI "The great solar rush is not the result of any government's policy push," said Muhammad Basit Ghauri, an energy transition expert at Renewables First. "Residents have taken the decision out of clear frustration over our classical power system, which is essentially based on a lot of inefficiencies." Pakistan sources most of its solar equipment from neighboring China, where prices have dropped sharply, largely driven by overproduction and tech advancements. But the fall in national grid consumers has crept up on an unprepared government burdened by $8 billion of power sector debt, analysts say. Pakistan depends heavily on costly gas imports, which it sells at a loss to national energy providers. It is also tied into lengthy contracts with independent power producers, including some owned by China, for which it pays a fixed amount regardless of actual demand. A government report in March said the solar power increase has created a "disproportionate financial burden onto grid consumers, contributing to higher electricity tariffs and undermining the sustainability of the energy sector." A local resident cleans a solar panel installed on his house's rooftop in Karachi on June 23. | AFP-JIJI Electricity sales dropped 2.8% year-on-year in June, marking a second consecutive year of decline. Last month, the government imposed a new 10% tax on all imported solar, while the energy ministry has proposed slashing the rate at which it buys excess solar energy from consumers. 'Disconnected from the public "The household solar boom was a response to a crisis, not the cause of it," said analyst Jones, warning of "substantial problems for the grid" including a surge during evenings when solar users who cannot store energy return to traditional power. The national grid is losing paying customers like businessman Arsalan Arif. A third of his income was spent on electricity bills at his Karachi home until he bought a 10-kilowatt solar panel for around 1.4 million rupees (around $4,900). "Before, I didn't follow a timetable. I was always disrupted by the power outages," he said. Now he has "freedom and certainty" to continue his catering business. In the eastern city of Sialkot, safety wear manufacturer Hammad Noor switched to solar power in 2023, calling it his "best business decision," breaking even in 18 months and now saving 1 million rupees every month. The cost of converting Noor's second factory has now risen by nearly 1.5 million rupees under the new government tax. "The tax imposed is unfair and gives an advantage to big businesses over smaller ones," he said. "Policymakers seem completely disconnected from the public and business community."
Arab News
14 hours ago
- Arab News
Two Pakistani Taliban militants killed in Karachi counterterror raid, police say
KARACHI: Two suspected militants from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan's (TTP) were killed in an intelligence-led security operation in Karachi, police said Thursday, amid growing concerns about the outfit's efforts to regroup in urban centers across the country. The TTP, also known as the Pakistan Taliban, has operated in the southern port city for over a decade, often in coordination with sectarian or ethnic militant outfits. The group has been linked to a series of high-profile attacks, including the 2014 assault on Karachi's Jinnah International Airport and the 2023 siege of the Karachi Police Office. In addition to violence, the network is known to engage in extortion, targeted assassinations and intimidation campaigns in the city. The latest operation, carried out jointly by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of Sindh Police and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), took place in the Askani area of Karachi's Keamari district after authorities said they received 'reliable intelligence' regarding a plot to carry out 'subversive activities.' 'Two terrorists affiliated with the banned organization Fitna Al-Khawarij (TTP) were neutralized in the gunfight,' CTD official Mazhar Mashwani told Arab News, adding that the identification of the militants was ongoing through biometric and intelligence verification. Security forces recovered a pistol, a Kalashnikov rifle, explosives and a suicide vest from the site of the operation. The vest was later defused by a bomb disposal unit, Mashwani added. Criminal cases are being registered under anti-terrorism and explosives laws at the CTD Police Station. Though large-scale security operations have weakened the TTP's organizational infrastructure in Karachi, police officials say sleeper cells remain active, often operating in alliance with other militant groups. Pakistan has experienced a sharp increase in militant violence since November 2022, when a fragile truce between the state and the TTP collapsed. While the violence has been most intense in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces, the presence of TTP-linked cells in Karachi, the country's commercial capital, remains a serious security concern. Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghanistan's Taliban-led government of sheltering TTP leaders and fighters involved in cross-border attacks, though Kabul denies the allegation and insists Pakistan address its own internal security challenges.
Al Jazeera
16 hours ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
How selling parrots to a Pakistani journalist led to a locked bank account
Islamabad, Pakistan – Rozi Khan, a 29-year-old bird seller from Karachi, was on a business trip to Islamabad in April when he discovered he could not access his bank account. After completing a sale with a customer, he tried to withdraw money from an ATM, only to be met with the message: 'Invalid bank account'. Alarmed, Khan took the next available flight back home and rushed to speak to his bank manager. He was shocked to discover that the account, which he had been using for his bird-selling business for 10 years, had been shut down on April 10 on the orders of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), without any explanation. Khan managed to speak to an FIA official on the phone after being given a number to call by his bank manager. After asking about Khan's recent business transactions, the official posed a puzzling question: What was his relationship with Asad Ali Toor, a journalist and avid collector of rare parrots? 'I did not understand the question at first. I sell birds to people from every walk of life – lawyers, military officers, anyone,' Khan told Al Jazeera. 'I sold parrots to Asad as well. Why would they suspend my account for dealing with a customer who just happens to be a journalist?' A ripple effect across cities In Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Sargodha and other cities, the same question has been echoing in the minds of other people, particularly bird sellers, who have conducted business with Toor and then found themselves locked out of their bank accounts. Nadeem Nasir, a 60-year-old businessman in Lahore who has sold birds in the past, including to Toor, discovered his account had been closed on April 10 when a cheque he wrote to an associate bounced. 'I have known Asad for the last five years and have developed good relations with him. But the last time he purchased parrots from me was in 2023 and early 2024. Since then, there has been no business transaction between us,' Nasir told Al Jazeera. Like Khan, Nasir said he received no notification that his account had been closed from either the FIA or the bank. When he finally spoke to someone at the FIA, he, too, was questioned about his connection to Toor. 'It was only after I managed to get in touch with some FIA officials through my contacts that they asked me about my relationship with Toor. That's when I realised what had happened,' he said. Toor, 40, is an Islamabad-based independent journalist and vlogger, who has earned a reputation for his outspoken opinions. He runs a popular YouTube channel and is well known for his critical analysis of the government, judiciary and Pakistan's powerful military establishment, which has ruled the country directly for more than three decades and continues to wield enormous influence. He also collects birds. A journalist with a passion for parrots Among the many bank accounts blocked by the FIA were those of Toor himself as well as of his father, mother, brother and a cousin who helped him run his YouTube channel. This wasn't Toor's first run-in with the authorities. He has been running his YouTube channel for the past five years, attracting 335,000 subscribers while more than 355,000 people follow him on X. In 2021 while the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was in power, Toor was attacked by unknown people at his home in Islamabad. He said he believed his assailants were members of the military intelligence service, which has been accused by rights groups of involvement in disappearances and extrajudicial killings in the past. At the time, the military's media wing did not comment after questions about the allegation. In February 2024, Toor was arrested on charges of orchestrating a 'malicious campaign' against the state through social media. He was released after 18 days in custody. Then last week, Toor's YouTube channel was among 27 Pakistani channels that authorities sought to suspend for 'anti-state' content. Although a magistrate initially approved the suspension, a sessions court reversed the order two days later. Toor's passion for rare parrots is well known. He owns several dozen birds and spends more than 50,000 rupees ($175) each month on their care, a hobby he funds through his online earnings. 'I only found out about the account suspension after my cousin told me his account had been frozen due to transactions with me,' Toor told Al Jazeera. 'As I looked into it, I discovered that my own account along with those of my family and even my bird sellers had been locked without any prior warning or notification from the bank or the FIA.' Legal fight for access For more than a month, Toor had no access to his funds and has been forced to rely on friends for financial support. Finally in May, the Islamabad High Court issued an order in response to a petition he had lodged, ordering that his bank account be restored. When Judge Khadim Hussain Soomro asked the FIA to justify the freeze, the agency submitted a one-page reply stating it needed to investigate Toor's income, allegedly earned through 'anti-state, anti-government posts' on social media. The statement further claimed that the agency was examining potential 'traces of money laundering and terror funding' through 'various bank channels'. But the court ruled Toor had been denied due process, the action, therefore, was unlawful and ordered the FIA to restore the journalist's account. The bank accounts of Toor's family members, however, remain blocked. Zainab Janjua, Toor's lawyer, said it took her more than a week to get her client's account unblocked after the ruling. 'The court order clearly stated that the accounts should be unblocked immediately, but the banks refused to comply until they had received written confirmation from the FIA,' she told Al Jazeera. Eventually, Janjua's colleague and Toor went to the bank and threatened contempt proceedings, after which the account was unlocked. 'The bank manager was named in our petition. We warned them that if the account wasn't restored, they'd face contempt of court charges. Only then did they comply,' she said. The FIA did not respond formally to questions from Al Jazeera, but an FIA official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Al Jazeera that the investigation into Toor was necessary due to what he called 'unusual' financial activity. 'Asad Toor has spent millions of rupees on parrots, and his only income appears to be from YouTube. Is that not strange?' the official said. He added that under antimoney-laundering laws, the FIA is authorised to investigate any financial dealings that appear suspicious. 'Our goal was to question these individuals, including Toor and his associates, and understand what's happening. That's why we froze the accounts,' he said. However, the official declined to explain why no prior notice was issued to any of the affected individuals. He said those affected should write to the FIA after court orders to unblock their accounts if they want them reopened. Journalists in the line of fire Another journalist known for his critical stance towards the state is Matiullah Jan, who is in his 50s and also lives in Islamabad, where he hosts a show on the news channel Neo News and also runs his own YouTube channel, MJTv. He underwent a similar ordeal in April when the accounts of his wife and sister as well as his own were frozen. Jan has previously been harassed and arrested on various charges. Last year, he was detained by the police on drug charges, which he denied, before eventually being cleared by a court. His YouTube channel was one of the 27 flagged by authorities last week along with Toor's. Jan said he also received no formal notice from the FIA that his account was being frozen. He only learned about the account closures through a verbal message from his bank. 'My sister's account was restored after my lawyer brother intervened. My wife's account was unblocked a month later only after the bank couldn't produce any written suspension order,' Jan told Al Jazeera. Waiting for justice Nasir and Khan, the bird sellers, took their case to court in Islamabad as well. On July 3, a court ruled in favour of both of them and ordered their bank accounts to be reopened. Nasir finally managed to get access to his account on July 5, more than two months after it had been suspended. 'Thankfully, I could still rely on my children for help. But my main concern was paying for my wife's cancer medication. It's deeply frustrating how easily the state can punish someone without explanation or apology,' Nasir said. In Karachi, Khan hasn't been as fortunate. Despite the court order, he said he still cannot access his account. He said the suspension is hurting his business because he now has to rely on his brothers to facilitate transactions. His customers, he said, often seem suspicious about why he can't provide details of a personal bank account. 'The government wants us to go cashless, to operate digitally and then shuts our accounts without explanation. What do I tell my customers? That doing business with another customer got my account frozen?' a frustrated Khan asked. Silencing the news media Pakistan remains one of the most restrictive countries in terms of news media freedom as journalists face constant threats to their security and livelihoods. In its latest report, Human Rights Watch said journalists in Pakistan 'faced intimidation, harassment, and digital and physical surveillance for perceived criticism of the government'. In the news media freedom rankings compiled by Reporters Without Borders in May, Pakistan dropped by five levels from number 152 to 158 out of 180 countries. Farieha Aziz, a rights activist, said journalists are increasingly being targeted via legal tools and state agencies like the FIA. 'This is about using the legal system to wear people down, dragging them into courts, forcing them to hire lawyers. It's nothing short of legal harassment and a culture of collective punishment,' she told Al Jazeera. Khan, who is still awaiting restoration of his account, said he holds no grudge against Toor but wants to know what crime he's being punished for. 'Does this mean if I talk to someone the state doesn't like, they can freeze my account? At least tell me what I did wrong. Issue a notice to me if you want. But you can't punish me silently when I've done nothing,' he said.
Arab News
20 hours ago
- Business
- Arab News
Pakistan sees $16 million in online animal sales during Eid — central bank
KARACHI: Pakistanis spent more than 4.7 billion rupees (approximately $16.3 million) on sacrificial animals through digital transactions during Eid-ul-Azha this year, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said on Tuesday, highlighting a growing shift toward cashless commerce in one of the country's most traditional and informal markets. The digital sales were part of the central bank's 'Go Cashless in Cattle Markets Campaign 2025,' launched to promote financial inclusion and reduce cash handling during the three-day religious festival that began on June 7. The annual holiday, also known as Eid Al-Adha, marks the Islamic ritual of animal sacrifice, during which millions of Pakistanis buy goats, cows, and camels, often in large, informal marketplaces. The SBP said the campaign was implemented in collaboration with 24 commercial banks and covered 54 major cattle markets across the country. 'The campaign was successfully implemented in 54 major cattle markets across Pakistan, resulting in 64,553 transactions valued at Rs 4.656 billion,' the central bank said in a statement. Eid-related animal trade represents a significant part of Pakistan's informal economy. By introducing digital payment options in livestock markets, the central bank aims to improve financial transparency and support the government's broader goal of documenting the cash-based economy. Pakistan is currently under a $7 billion loan program with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which encourages reforms including digitization of financial services to boost tax collection and economic stability. 'Digital payment systems play a vital role in modern economies by offering transparency, reducing fraud risks, and providing secure, convenient, and inclusive access to financial services,' the SBP said. It added that such initiatives were crucial for building trust and driving adoption of digital platforms, especially among underserved groups like livestock traders. The central bank said feedback from buyers and sellers in the cattle markets was positive, with participants appreciating the reduced reliance on physical cash. 'This campaign was highly appreciated by the buyers and sellers in the cattle markets, as it reduced their reliance on cash,' the bank noted. Najeeb Ahmed Warsi, head of online trading at Foundation Securities Ltd, called the initiative a meaningful step toward modernizing Pakistan's financial landscape. 'This campaign is more than just numbers, it's a clear step forward in Pakistan's journey toward a digitally-driven, cashless economy,' he said. 'By digitizing traditional markets, we're building trust, increasing financial inclusion, and setting the stage for a safer, smarter financial ecosystem.' Warsi noted that the partnership between 24 commercial banks and the central bank allowed the initiative to scale effectively across the country. 'This groundbreaking initiative earned widespread praise from both buyers and sellers, who welcomed the shift from cash to digital payments, and transparency during one of the busiest market seasons,' he added. The SBP said it would continue fostering collaborations across the financial sector to further Pakistan's transition to a digitally inclusive economy.
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Pakistan's great solar escape: Households flee the grid, spooking debt-laden government
KARACHI, July 17 — Pakistanis are increasingly ditching the national grid in favour of solar power, prompting a boom in rooftop panels and spooking a government weighed down by billions of dollars of power sector debt. The quiet energy revolution has spread from wealthy neighbourhoods to middle- and lower-income households as customers look to escape soaring electricity bills and prolonged power cuts. Down a cramped alley in Pakistan's megacity of Karachi, residents fighting the sweltering summer heat gather in Fareeda Saleem's modest home for something they never experienced before — uninterrupted power. 'Solar makes life easier, but it's a hard choice for people like us,' she says of the installation cost. Saleem was cut from the grid last year for refusing to pay her bills in protest over enduring 18-hour power cuts. A widow and mother of two disabled children, she sold her jewellery — a prized possession for women in Pakistan — and borrowed money from relatives to buy two solar panels, a solar inverter and battery to store energy, for 180,000 rupees (RM2,675). As temperatures pass 40°Celsius, children duck under Saleem's door and gather around the breeze of her fan. Mounted on poles above homes, solar panels have become a common sight across the country of 240 million people, with the installation cost typically recovered within two to five years. Making up less than two per cent of the energy mix in 2020, solar power reached 10.3 per cent in 2024, according to the global energy think tank Ember. But in a remarkable acceleration, it more than doubled to 24 per cent in the first five months of 2025, becoming the largest source of energy production for the first time. It has edged past gas, coal and nuclear electricity sources, as well as hydropower which has seen hundreds of millions of dollars of investment over the past decades. As a result, Pakistan has unexpectedly surged towards its target of renewable energy, making up 60 per cent of its energy mix by 2030. Dave Jones, chief analyst at Ember, told AFP that Pakistan was 'a leader in rooftop solar'. 'The great Solar rush' Soaring fuel costs globally, coupled with demands from the International Monetary Fund to slash government subsidies, led successive administrations to repeatedly hike electricity costs. Prices have fluctuated since 2022 but peaked at a 155-per cent increase and power bills sometimes outweigh the cost of rent. 'The great solar rush is not the result of any government's policy push,' Muhammad Basit Ghauri, an energy transition expert at Renewables First, told AFP. 'Residents have taken the decision out of clear frustration over our classical power system, which is essentially based on a lot of inefficiencies.' Pakistan sources most of its solar equipment from neighbouring China, where prices have dropped sharply, largely driven by overproduction and tech advancements. But the fall in national grid consumers has crept up on an unprepared government burdened by US$8 billion of power sector debt, analysts say. Pakistan depends heavily on costly gas imports, which it sells at a loss to national energy providers. It is also tied into lengthy contracts with independent power producers, including some owned by China, for which it pays a fixed amount regardless of actual demand. A government report in March said the solar power increase has created a 'disproportionate financial burden onto grid consumers, contributing to higher electricity tariffs and undermining the sustainability of the energy sector'. Electricity sales dropped 2.8 per cent year-on-year in June, marking a second consecutive year of decline. Last month, the government imposed a new 10-per cent tax on all imported solar, while the energy ministry has proposed slashing the rate at which it buys excess solar energy from consumers. 'Disconnected from the public 'The household solar boom was a response to a crisis, not the cause of it,' said analyst Jones, warning of 'substantial problems for the grid' including a surge during evenings when solar users who cannot store energy return to traditional power. The national grid is losing paying customers like businessman Arsalan Arif. A third of his income was spent on electricity bills at his Karachi home until he bought a 10-kilowatt solar panel for around 1.4 million rupees. 'Before, I didn't follow a timetable. I was always disrupted by the power outages,' he told AFP. Now he has 'freedom and certainty' to continue his catering business. In the eastern city of Sialkot, safety wear manufacturer Hammad Noor switched to solar power in 2023, calling it his 'best business decision', breaking even in 18 months and now saving 1 million rupees every month. The cost of converting Noor's second factory has now risen by nearly 1.5 million rupees under the new government tax. 'The tax imposed is unfair and gives an advantage to big businesses over smaller ones,' he said. 'Policymakers seem completely disconnected from the public and business community.' — AFP
